Participant 9

Guiding Questions:

What are your initial thoughts about the concept of Literacy with ICT (LwICT)?

• Many of the skills identified on the LICT continuum are simply good teaching practice.
• I think we (within my school system) are already doing a fair amount of what is on the continuum.
• Incorporating ICT skills has really helped increase student engagement within our school system.

What implementation barriers for LwICT do you foresee at Senior Years?

• Students in high school have potentially five or six different teachers per day, and are potentially demonstrating their competency and skills with ICT in all of these subjects. Given this reality, developing a framework for reporting which presents a consistent view of the students' ICT competencies without becoming onerous for teachers might pose some challenges.
• I think the road to our students being 100% compliant with copyright legislation will be a long one.
• The amount of curriculum to be covered in a limited time in some courses might make it difficult to integrate and infuse ICT in some subject areas / classes. That doesn't mean we don't do it, but it is a challenge.

What opportunities does LwICT present for Senior Years?

• In my experience, Literacy ICT integration does wonders for student engagement.
• If students become familiar with a particular tool, they can then use this tool in any subject or situation they choose without the course teacher needing to teach it explicitly or know much about it. For example, I teach Digital Pictures and students learn all about Photoshop... and then both I and my colleagues see some students choosing to use this tool throughout their other courses... and they also choose to use this tool outside of school to benefit their communities.

What professional learning is required initially to prepare Senior Years teachers to begin to use the LwICT continuum?

• I think it might be a great idea to run an open summer institute... I know you've done them by invitation (like this one) but running an open summer institute would allow those teachers who want PD in this area to get it. Might be a good way to increase the awareness of ICT in senior years.
• Is there a post-bac course related to Literacy with ICT? This might be another good idea to allow interested staff to engage in PD.

What types of ICT do you currently have in your Senior Years classroom?

• All students have access to pods of computers on an "as needed" basis.
• Our computers have current software (Office, Photoshop, Flash, etc.)
• All schools have digital cameras and scanners.
• I have internet access, however not many of my students have access to this either inside of school or at home.

What types of ICT are available to you in your school, but not in your classroom?

• I generally am able to access the tech resources I require, provided I am able to justify the need for them.

What subjects and grades do you teach and how do you currently use ICT to enhance student learning?

• Senior years 9 to 12
• English, social studies, technology, sciences.
• We have integrated our grade 9 and 10 ELA courses within our school with ICT courses... all students in our system are exposed to ICT as part of their required coursework and receive credit for their use of ICT.
• I have used blogs, wikis, Google Docs, Photoshop, Google Sketchup, Photo Story, Flash, Office, PowerPoint, internet (www), and screencasting software, both with students and as part of my own professional learning.